Biedermeier Furniture
The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
Late 20th Century European Biedermeier Furniture
Paint
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 1900s European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1860s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ebony, Maple, Walnut, Softwood
Mid-19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
1820s Danish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ash, Fruitwood
Early 20th Century European Biedermeier Furniture
Marble
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fruitwood
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Fabric
1960s American Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Leather, Cane, Amboyna
Mid-17th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Late 20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Furniture
Paint
1880s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1910s Austrian Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Lacquer, Beech, Walnut
1850s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Silver
19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass, Cherry, Ebony
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bronze
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fruitwood
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bone, Maple
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s Czech Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Iron
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Belgian Black Marble
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Furniture
Paint
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Furniture
Birdseye Maple
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1880s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Alpaca, Glass
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Beech
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Marble
Early 19th Century English Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1980s German Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Maple
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
1820s Czech Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Cherry, Ebony, Spruce, Lacquer
1840s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Silver
1810s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Marble
1860s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ebony, Holly, Fruitwood, Mahogany
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Beech